This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This grant is to provide access for a course in bioinformatics developed as part of the MARC Training Grant of Dr. Hugh Nicholas of the PSC. The course is designed to provide an understanding of important topics in applied bioinformatics and computational biology. Students will be able to learn about problems involved in the analysis of biological data such as DNA/protein sequences and protein structures. The course is intended to provide a good understanding of the commonly used algorithms in the analysis of genomic data, hands-on experiences with accessing and using relevant databases, the use of advanced computer programs for sequence analysis, protein sequence phylogenetic analysis, visualization of results, and a basic overview of genome analysis. The course is intended to be flexible and adaptable to students'needs. Its objectives are: to provide students with a thorough understanding of current computational techniques available to biomedical scientists for processing, analyzing, and understanding DNA and protein sequence and structural analysis. This will be accomplished through lectures, coupled with lab sessions where students will interact with the PSC Bioinformatics resources discussed in class. Student comprehension of computational biology concepts and utilization of the PSC computational resources will be assessed through individual projects which will evolve throughout the semester. In addition, students will be exposed to a variety of research avenues available to the computational biomedical scientist.